Former two-division champion Aung La Nsang will return to the ONE Championship ring at ONE 168 in Denver on September 6 to face undefeated Russian Shamil Erdogan after a year-long absence.
U.S.-based Aung was arguably the biggest star on the roster at one point, holding both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles and having a huge fan base in Myanmar, the country where he was born and where he returned to compete on ONE Championship cards.
Aung turned 39 earlier this year and is clearly nearing the end of his career, but his recent results have been impressive, with wins in the first two rounds of each of his last three fights.
He lost his titles to Dutch fighter Reinier de Ridder, who defeated him twice, after which Aung announced that he would no longer fight in the light heavyweight division.
However, his subsequent three-fight winning streak arguably makes him the top contender in the middleweight division.
With a record of 30-13-0-1, he is one of the most experienced fighters on the ONE Championship roster, while Erdogan has fought only sporadically since his debut in 2012 but remains undefeated.
Erdogan, 33, was born in Russia but moved to Turkey and has represented his native country in numerous wrestling tournaments. His record is 9-0 and he defeated Chinese fighter Fan Rong, an opponent Aung has also defeated, in his ONE Championship debut.
Aung faced Rong at ONE Fight Night 10, which took place in Denver in May of last year. It was the first time the promotion hosted an event on U.S. soil.
However, the venue has changed and tickets will be on display in the much larger Ball Arena.
Stamp Fairtex will face Xiong Jing Nan in the main event, but it remains to be seen if the Thai fighter will recover from her knee surgery in time.
